Posted on December 18, 2018

In August 2018, Gallup announced that employee engagement is on the rise in the United States. That is, the number of employees who are “involved in, enthusiastic about and committed to their work and workplace” is increasing. Finally, after years of warnings and in the face of record low unemployment rates, it seems that businesses have received the message: engaged employees are a major contributor to a business’s success. And those businesses have taken action.

Why are employee engagement levels an indicator of a business’s success? There are several reasons. First, according to the Gallup report, highly engaged employees are more productive employees. Businesses whose employees are committed and care benefit from higher individual performance levels and earnings-per-share growth.

Finally, one reason employee engagement is particularly important for professional service businesses such as massage therapy clinics is that employees are the face of your company. If your employees aren’t engaged on the job, your customer service may suffer. In its 2017 Employee Engagement Benchmark Study, Temkin Group reported that companies with highly to moderately engaged employees delivered a significantly better customer experience than their competitors.

So what actions can you take to ensure that your employees are engaged and at their best? Check out this list of our best tips.

Three Ways to Improve Your Employee Engagement Levels

Make trust a two-way street. As a business owner and manager, you expect your employees to trust that you are making the right decisions for you business. But do you trust them? Don’t let a tendency to micromanage steal your employees’ enthusiasm. Show your employees that you have faith in their ability to get the job done by taking a step back. As Corissa Craddick explains in her article, Want to Improve Performance and Engagement? Here’s Why Autonomy Is Essential, if you want your employees to be motivated to act in the best interest of your massage therapy business, give them the authority to take those actions.

Serve your compliments without the sandwich. Many managers use the sandwich method to deliver bad news to employees. Using this method, criticisms are served up sandwiched between praise or compliments. While this may be a great way to soften the blow of bad news, it turns an opportunity to build up your employees into one that disappoints. Your employees need and deserve praise for their good work. So, to improve your employee engagement levels, deliver your compliments free and clear of any negative baggage.

Invest in your employees’ success. Nothing says you matter to someone better than making a tangible investment in their success. Employers who support their employees’ career development also benefit from lower turnover rates. According to the Work Institute’s 2018 Retention Report: Trends in Turnover, a lack of growth and development opportunities was the second most common reason employees gave for leaving their jobs. When you assist your employees to achieve their career development goals, you send a clear message that their future and that of your business are linked.

Share Your Goals to Achieve Shared Success

As a customer-focused business, your success depends on the contribution of every member of your team. When you ensure that your employees are fully engaged and aligned with your clinic’s vision and purpose, you and your customers will enjoy the benefits. So, don’t forget to share your massage therapy’s vision for success with your employees and engage them in helping you to make it happen.

What is ClinicSense?

ClinicSense helps small healthcare clinics manage their business with simple-to-use practice management software.

We help with things like scheduling, SOAP notes, invoicing, insurance, and more.